Meet Christian Celeste Tate

I have always been interested in government and politics. Growing up in Washington, D.C., I watched my father fight for D.C. statehood and listened to stories of my grandfather running for the U.S. Senate. I volunteered for my first political campaign at the age of thirteen, and have remained politically involved ever since. It wasn’t long, however, before I realized that the system in which our government operates is imperfect and that many of those imperfections discourage civic engagement. This realization is what brought me to FairVote. I want to take ownership of our political system and empower those around me to do the same. This internship is a step towards that goal.

From my internship at FairVote, I hope to gain several things. First and foremost, I hope to grow as an activist and an organizer. I hope to do this by developing my ability to communicate complex ideas, build coalitions, and inspire others to action. Second, I hope to better understand how to connect the dots between objective analysis, successful advocacy, and impactful reform. Complex reforms -- such as the ones taken on by FairVote -- require immense research, communications, and advocacy efforts. I hope to become versed in coordinating such efforts.

Electoral reform is important to me because of its vast implications. I am passionate about many areas of policy, ranging from education to infrastructure to civic engagement and beyond. I believe that in order to adequately and responsibly address those areas, communities (local, state and national) must do so with legislative bodies that are truly representative.

I am excited about this internship because the work I am doing is both substantive and lasting. The reforms championed by FairVote have remarkable implications for our elected bodies, and this is a unique opportunity to help bring about reforms that equalize our political representation and galvanize the electorate to engage in our political process.

Christian Celeste Tate is a rising senior at Bowdoin College and working as a 2015 Outreach Intern at FairVote, researching the implementation of ranked choice voting. Do you want to apply for a FairVote internship? Find more information here: http://www.fairvote.org/who-we-are/internships-and-employment/internships/